Wall Street No.9

How do family run companies survice centuries? Not so hard after all…

K D — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:59:18 +0000

This questioned was raised and answered by two scholars of a University in Germany, who figured out that in order for a company to survive centuries they have to implement a strategic approach to family management. The requirments are basically to implement a family management, that makes sure all members of the family strive for the same goal: the benefit of the company. To insure this loyalty they provide financial and educational resources to all members. The study is not publicly available.

Iphone Reviews and Posts

K D — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:38:50 +0000

Interesting Review by Guy Kawasaki on the Iphone and AT&T…..here it is

Interesting Post on Scobleizer …here it is

In the mood for a DoubleShot Espresso…?

K D — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:26:32 +0000

Starbucks offers one. The investor might ask himself if Starbucks is worth a look now after a ytd drop of almost 28%. According to the fact sheet of Starbucks they globally run approx. 13168 Stores. 40000 are planed (according to Schultz in a TIME-article you can find here). Potential for growth does exist: its presence in the US is already strong, but Asia, in particular China, and Europe are under represented in comparison to US standards. But the potential investor should be aware of Europe‘s peculiar cultural characteristics. For example, Starbucks in Italy, if not presented adequately could easily end up as a low quality coffee corner. Do not forget the origin of cappuccino and co is Italy. Though the coffee may come from other places. Germans and French also are very sceptical about a ‘cappuccino’ brand, since the high net worth clientele in Europe prefers self made cappuccinos and espressos. Nevertheless key to the success in Europe is the youth. They do not necessarily feel an obligation to a so called coffee tradition. If Starbucks is smart, they will not address the busy New Yorker type of employee in Europe but hip students with a lot of time and money on their hand.Find more insight on the company on the for sure known blog The Peridot Capitalist by Chad Brand, one of the best investment blogs out there. You should definitely check it out. Full Disclosure: I do not own stocks of the mentioned company.

A new means of transportation seems to be….

K D — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:12:49 +0000

Railways. Seriously. Some Investors, also Berkshire Hathaway, engaged seriously in the new hot transportation alternative: Union Pacific (UNG), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC). Does it make sense? Well, for the Buffet evangelists sure it does, but what arguments are supporting an engagement? Fuelled by increasing oil prices (in the last five month the price for oil increased by 37%) this investment idea could turn out to be great. Accordingly TCI (Hedge Fund in London) Partner Snehal Amin (they have got no website) recently said in an interview that he expects income und stock performance of the railway companies to double in the next 5 years. Not only Mr. Buffet is convinced, also Mr. Icahn, how holds CSX (CSX) worth USD 122 Mil. If not the market will do, the Hedge Funds will utilize their activism strategy to come out of the investments with huge profits. However, for those of you who are thinking about investing: the shares of almost all railway companies have performed well in the last couple of month. Union Pacific performed 24% in the last five month. A correction of prices is always possible. Full Disclosure: I do not own any stocks or options of the mentioned companies.

I work as an investor but deep inside I am a start up addict

K D — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:16:49 +0000

Lately I am checking out new business ventures and it got me all excited about starting a new company on my own again. So anyone who has got a good idea, drop me a note or a comment. I am always thankful for new ideas. For those of you who are looking for great ideas, here you can find a lot of ideas that are trying to make it out there. One of the most promising retail start ups I found actually comes from Germany. They sell custom made cereal. Sounds very boring, but I believe their potential for evangelism is strong. You can find their website here. I think the potential for evangelism is one of the key factors that determines success in a any company. New or old.